Tonight is the first meeting of the Bethlehem Grocery Co-Op (7:00 at the library—Be there!). My husband and I are so psyched. I am even skipping out on one of my Girl Scout meetings to attend! The Express Times covered the story with a pretty decent article, which you can read here.

In the spirit of community, the meeting organizers have asked people to bring vegetarian or vegan snack food or non-alcoholic beverages to share in a potluck. Since I’ll be coming straight from my earlier Girl Scout meeting tonight, I knew I had to make something ahead of time that I could just grab when I pick up my husband and bring along. With a bunch of roasted butternut squash in the freezer, plus two whole ones in the fridge, I figured that was a good place to start. Dip is generally pretty foolproof, so I whipped up a super-simple batch in the food processor and made some tasty garlic onion crackers to go along with it. The combination is delicious—Savory crackers (based off a recipe for Indian nippattu, an onion and chili savory cookie) with a slightly sweet, slightly spicy dip. So, whether you’ve got a holiday party coming up or taste this tonight at the meeting and decide you want more, give it a try! (By the way, both recipes are vegan.)

Last week, I stopped by Keepsake Farm with a friend to pick up some eggs and cheese. I was pleasantly surprised when the guy covering the counter asked, “So what are you going to make this time? I love looking at your blog to see what you did with what you bought.” Someone recognized me who reads this blog! 😀

Once I got over the giddiness of my first random recognition, I realized I had to make something truly excellent with the ricotta cheese I picked up that day. We recently discovered that Giorgio Mushrooms are grown within an hour of the Lehigh Valley and we picked up a pint of them on a whim. This isn’t the kind of farm we’ve been supporting for the past year, but we did research their practices and decided we’d purchase a container of them until our first order of very local Mother Earth mushrooms from Pure Sprouts arrive this weekend. Of course, three days after we purchased them, I saw that Jett’s Natural Produce had mushrooms for the first time all year! I guess they just weren’t in season before? (Never thought I’d actually feel a dilemma about where to get mushrooms. It felt weird to scan a package of produce.)

Anyway, we were glad to have the tasty fungi in our kitchen. (Funny thing, the fact that mushrooms are fungi freaked me out so much that I refused to eat them until last year. Now I love them!) Combined with a big ol’ butternut squash, some leafy kale, creamy ricotta and super simple crust, this tart (actually, a pie because I don’t have a tart pan) is something special enough to serve company.

Like this:

To culminate this butternut squash laden week, I present you all with this recipe for a unique quiche, combining the light fluffiness of a spring quiche with the hearty flavors of autumn. This quiche would be great to serve for a fall brunch, although it holds up just fine for any time of day. If you like to make pie crust or have one in the fridge or freezer, go ahead and use it for this recipe (no need to prebake). I, however, have fallen in love with using thin sliced potatoes as a savory pie crust. It’s so quick and easy and doesn’t dirty extra dishes. If you haven’t tried this method yet, give it a shot!

1/2 c. cheese (I used an assortment of cheddar, farmer’s and gouda from Keepsake Farm)

drizzle of olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Thinly slice potatoes, using a mandolin if possible, and layer across bottom and up sides of deep pie plate. (If you only have a shallow pie plate and you end up with extra egg mixture later on, look at the bottom of the post for a bonus recipe!)

Brush potatoes with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, dice onion and finely chop garlic and poblano pepper.

Heat drizzle of olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and poblano and cook until onion is just translucent, stirring frequently.

Onion, Garlic, Poblano

Chop spinach and add to skillet, cooking and stirring until spinach wilts.

Remove potatoes from oven and top with sliced roasted butternut squash.

Sprinkle onion and spinach mixture evenly over squash layer.

Grate cheese over onion and spinach mixture.

Whisk together eggs and milk until frothy.

Pour egg mixture over quiche fillings, leaving .25″ at top edge of crust. (If you have extra egg mixture, see below!)

Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until center is set.

A quiche even a man will be satisfied eating!

Bonus!

With this quiche, I used a smaller pie plate than usual for some reason, plus more filling than usual. As I poured the egg mixture, I realized I would have some extra. So, I whisked in some vanilla, cinnamon, and a touch of melted raspberry jam and poured it into a small baking dish. I stuck it in the oven next to the quiche and kept an eye on it until the center was set. A lovely dessert custard to go with the quiche!

Also, since we are still without power at our house and I am hurriedly typing this on my lunch break, Weekend Hodgepodge will be a bit late this week! I promise I will be back on schedule with posting as soon as our power comes back and my fingers thaw!

When a branch this size falls on the wire leading into your house, it's pretty likely you will be without power. Thank goodness for head lamps, gas cooktops and in-laws with chest freezers as we enter our 3rd day without power!

I recently picked up a gargantuan butternut squash, so I’ve been having fun coming up with recipes to use it up in. You’ll see a few of them this coming week, so run out and pick yourself up a big one right now! As I think I’ve mentioned before, butternut squash is one of my absolute favorite fall flavors. It’s got a beautiful hue, excellent taste, smooth texture and is sooo versatile. I love that I can roast one up and use it in four completely different meals throughout the week, only having spent a few dollars.

Enough of my gushing about squash, though—Congrats to Amy, who guessed “What’s For Dinner,” despite her second guessing about the cheese! 😀 Amy, trust me, as one who only recently began eating stinky cheeses, this is a great use for it! These ravioli freeze wonderfully, so bag some up before boiling to keep on hand throughout the season.